All that was left was to find my guild. However before we can find mine, we needed to drop by a guild called Hanami. If the name sounded familiar then it should. This was the same guild where Richard and Magna came from. But all these guilds really got me thinking many questions. It kinda off that it was that fast to get into a guild. If I knew my psychology course well, it was that it didn't take that short amount of time to get a job. "Is it really that fast to get into a guild?" I asked. "No, it usually takes a few weeks for a person to be confirmed into a guild." Magna told me.
The edges of my curiosity don't know no bounds. I continued to ask more. "So what's going to happen to my friends?" I asked them. "Since they got in, they're going to start as trainees. The card they were given was temporary membership." Magna explains to me, "In order for them to pay the fee to join which is around ten to fifteen silver pieces. They are then taught the basics based on their job class at the guild association and eventually be introduced to an initiation request given by the guild. After that they are part of the guild."
"Then how were they accepted that fast to join the guild?" I asked out of curiosity.
"You have to thank Richard for that. " Magna said.
"Now you lost me." I replied out of that vague response.
"People here are equally superstitious as they are religious. I am allied to Ebisu, the Shinto God of fortune. Often people take it as me giving a advice or a request, they take it as a blessing." Richard explained.
"That's really lucky. Does being allied with a god really give that much of a popularity?" I asked.
"I best not to if I were you. You have a popular god on you. Meaning twice the popularity. But your god are morally infamous than famous." Magna told me.
"Why is that?" I asked.
"Well...Tsukuyomi barely takes part of mortal affairs. But she another story altogether." Richard said.
"Why? What's wrong with her?" I asked.
"Your god exist as the various high tier ones. Moon goddesses play lots of important roles and members like that are desired. People can take advantage of that fast." Magna explained.
"And with that untapped power you have, I think it's best for you to go in a slow pace." Richard added.
I kept those words to thought as their eyes were filled with seriousness. But despite the seriousness in their eyes I couldn't help notice the architecture of Cletus. It was something that came out of Renaissance. The architecture was a mixture of Italian and Gothic. It felt like a maze that would have left me lost for miles. Like a maze, it was hard to tell where I was going. There we approached the guild Hanami. Oddly enough the building was made from brick and cement. The sign was written in kanji with the guild's name written in new times roman at the bottom. But one thing's for sure, it was definitely big. It was the size of a church and very large in area. The doors were reinforced with thick wood and iron. Richard gave a light knock and the doors were opened by stone samurai dropping down from their pedestals. I was greeted with a massive guild hall. It was far larger inside compared to the entrance. It was full of chairs and tables, serving food and drinks. It was much the size of a ballroom with lots of people dining after a long day. With the stone brick walls and the pillars along with the wooden flooring, I'd say I was in a dungeons and dragons medieval setting. Yet it didn't really change the fact that I was still stuck in Laputa. The people around the guild had a lot going on their own. Some wore casual clothing, others wore leather clothing mixed with regular clothes. However a very few actually went of the cyberpunk look, much like mine. At least I don't feel left out. We then approach the receptionist desk for a call. "Is the guildmaster in, Angela?" Richard asked the blonde haired receptionist. "Yeah, she's been expecting you." She told him.
The three of us walk on the grand staircase beyond the desk. As we walked along the wooden stairs I couldn't help but realize that people were staring at me. Richard developed a smirk on his face. "Looks like you're going to be famous soon." He told me. Knowing his style back when he was Ryoma, that didn't sound good. As we walked towards the hall, there was a giant wooden door at the end. Richard was the first to knock. The doors then opened in their own. On the desk stood a woman with long black hair with a serious face. As the light shined back at her, it reminded me of how Isami Kondo's posture when reading. Her head nudged a but upwards and she gave a gentle smile. I'd recognized that anywhere. She was definitely the reincarnation of Isami Kondo, the late commander of the Shinsengumi. Out of reflex, my body gave a short bow. She giggled out of that reaction. "It's nice that you didn't forget your formalities, Toshi." She said in Japanese. "All the more I cannot, Kondo-sama." I replied in formal Japanese. The woman got out of her desk and lend her hand. To my surprise, she was Japanese and wasn't far from my age. "I'm surprised you still remembered after being reborn so many times." She says, "Despite how many times I enjoy people recognizing my name, I go by Sakuya Tachibana now."
"Likewise. I'm Rin Kamiyama at this age." I replied out of bashfulness.
Richard laughed out of my expression. "It's nice for you to act like this after all this time." He says, "It reminds me of us back at the time." Again that light smile comes out of Sakuya's face. The woman then gets a feel of my face. The random gesture made me blush as it was sudden. But she turns away with her arms slumping. "It's funny how you even became handsome even at this current life." Sakuya says playfully, "But surely he doesn't waste them this time."
"Face it chief, he's hopeless. He even told me that he screwed up his first kiss. For all we know he's going to die a virgin like the other couple of times." Richard played along.
I reacted out of bashfulness to brooding. The other two just laughed. But despite the laughter, we were interrupted by Magna. "We should proceed to business." He says, "I still got another job on me after this." Despite our reunion we decided to go back into business. I took a chair with Richard in front of Sakuya's desk. Magna guarded the door. With her hands folded at the desk. "I guess you are curious why you are here." Sakuya implied. "A little...But knowing you, for sure there is a reason for it." I replied. She pours me some hot water on top of a tea bag. "As you know the gods have taken part of this world to serve as guides to survive in this world. But the Norns, the sister gods of fate gave me a disturbing message and confirmed my assumption." She said
"What is this message?" Magna asked.
"A lot of things are going happen. More deaths are going to occur with gifted magic users and we have to keep at our toes." Richard answered.
"So the rumors are true. This is gonna be hell on earth." Magna said.
But with all the bland talk all the more I was getting confused. So I raised my hand to get everybody's attention. They soon see this and let me speak. "Why is this such an issue? Is there something I need to know?" I asked. They returned their attention to me. A serious aura filled the room. "The God's take incarnations of their familia as family." Sakuya says, "Some people fear of what would happen if we have an angry good come at this current time."
"Why the sudden fear of them?" I asked.
"Terra and the reason for the occurrence you call HAPs are partly the things people are scared. I don't think we want other problems other than that." Magna put out.
"Yeah...we had a guy like you. Died at our doorstep the next day." Richard added.
"So what am I supposed to do?" I asked them.
Sakuya then stood up and looked at the large window behind her. That gaze of her's reminded of the time when the Shinsengumi was being hunted down. There was fear in her eyes. "The Norns warned me a few weeks ago of a man invisible to the eyes of the gods. They say that maybe you might help." Sakuya tells me, "The gods don't see you so this brings much opportunity to keep you safe."
"So what happens if I am known?" I asked her.
"Probably a purge or a civil war if this keeps up." Richard answered.
"Overtime the gods are getting angry with their incarnations of their familia dying. If this gets worse then we might get divine retribution. "Magna Explained.
"Not just any war. A holy war. But not like the crusades. A war with gods and mortals." Sakuya clarified.
"Imagine if that war was here. The morality of people here is already crippling, what more if it was here?" Richard pointed out.
"Probably Ragnarok or Revelations would be child's play compared to what will happen. Cletus is only the few safe haven we got. Most of us don't wanna go back to fighting bandits, you know." Magna added.
With the seriousness in the air, I was left wondering of what is to happen. It was the only thing left in my mind. All the pieces were in place so it only left me thinking of what the three of me were planning for me to do. "So what now? Obviously you need me for something." I asked. "Richard told me of your god. Has Tsukuyomi made contact with you? For sure he wants you to do something." Sakuya asked. I couldn't answer. "She's barely been present now. But she means well. The last time I made contact with her was at L.A. Other than that… nothing." I replied in a reluctant manner.
"Then unless Prometheus makes a move… we're lost in the woods." Magna stated.
"What's so important about my god and Prometheus?"
"Tsukuyomi's a neutral figure, word of tongue is that she has assisted Prometheus several times. Some say Prometheus caused Laputa but it's hard to tell. "
That's when Sakuya looked at the orb across the room. It was much like the one that was used in the Hand but with a slighter gray glow. "The best to keep you safe is to join our guild." Richard tells me, "Not only that you will be under our protection but you would gain enough knowledge to defend yourself when the time comes."
"Gods of fate are best not to be ignored...we might as well try to keep a low profile on your to keep you safe with a job class." Sakuya suggested.
With that I was given a few Pamphlets and posters of the available job classes the guild has to provide. Hanami was an adventurer's guild. In the world there are various types of guilds that the city of Cletus has to provide. But none is more flexible than an Adventurer's guild. An Adventurer's guild is one that accepts jobs from any kind. They can either assist other guild in other odd jobs when understaffed, do exploration, be vendors, or even take on other quest that any kind of guild has. The Adventurer's guild is considered a club composed of jacks of the trade. Even if the most unconventional, they are the most effective.
Hanami provided many kinds of Job classes, most generic classes were warrior, rogue, mage, and even healer. There was even the hunter and blacksmith class. But with all the choices in line, it was hard to tell which class should I join. All and all, I was swimming in a dilemma. "Why are you taking so long? Hurry up and choose a class." Richard whined. "That's the thing...I don't know." I told him. Magna then looks at some of the job classes and was puzzled himself. There was something that Richard wasn't seeing. "The new guy does have a point. This is an issue." Magna pointed out.
"What do you mean?" Sakuya asked.
"It looks like there will be a large disadvantage if he chooses either."
"Can you explain further?"
The orc then takes out two pamphlets. One was of a warrior and another of a mage. "While traveling, Rin has not only high talents as a magic caster but also as a martial artist." Magna explains to us, "If Rin becomes either a rogue or a warrior, then his talents for magecraft and magic will go to waste. However if we make him into a mage or a healer then all the more the dilemma of him defending himself will be out the window." With that, Sakuya managed to get an explanation. "So in the end, by not being smart about this all the more we might risk Rin in danger." Sakuya summarized. This made Richard ruffle his hair. "Damn, this is gonna be harder than we thought." He says, "Too bad we can't just give him two classes. Only high teirs can have those."
But with those words alone it gave Sakuya a solution. She then looks under her desk for something. It was the spark of the moment but there was a bigger flame in her eyes. The guildmaster then brought out another pamphlet but this was slightly old. "It might be risky but maybe we can give him this class." Sakuya insisted. Richard then reads the form. This leads him to be a bit pessimistic. "Are you serious? The freelancer class is the most unconventional class there is. The model itself is so outdated that I didn't even know they still had this until six months ago." Richard said. Magna then looks of the format of the freelancer class. "It's kinda risky but it could work." The orc confirmed. "Plus it is the most lowbrow one. Freelancers are usually not popular so he should be fine."
Knowing that I was in danger I had to agree with the terms. Magic was good but I guess this was the price for power. And just like that I became part of the freelancer class. I managed to take my guild card no problem but it left with one unusual circumstances.The guild card only required a drop of my blood. Information of me as a trainee filled by itself in red handwriting and the guild's insignia at the back.
But as soon as I got my guild card, I was given a master lock hold. from behind by Magna. "What the hell are you doing?" I asked out of shock. It was there that Sakuya lit up her fireplace with a some herbs and poured some potions on the logs. A snap of Richard's fingers and the fireplace produced a blue flame. Richard lifts up my shirt over my head as I noticed something quite horrifying. "We forgot to mention that before being a freelancer you need the mark of the navigator. It will allow you to use the magic with it. No hard feelings.." Magna told me. Sakuya then gets her gloves and pulls out a glowing blue brand with an eight point star that looked like a mark of a compass. But with that I started to squirm. "Rin, as your past commander...this will hurt me more than it will hurt you." Sakuya told me in a monotone voice. Yet what scared me the most creepy blank expression I've seen. This was much like the face she gave me when she was still Kondo. It was the face that she would put when she would feel conflicted
I kept on screaming to stop. Richard then grabs a chair and started to bind me with leather straps and slaps me with a jewel on the forehead to paralyze me. But without warning, Sakuya placed the brand on top of my skin. I screamed in agony. How the hell do I get myself into these things?